Bayelsa civil servants run into trouble with Governor Dickson

Civil servants in Bayelsa State who are on full time study-leave, without approval have run into troubled waters with the State’s governor, Seriake Dickson.

Dickson said that henceforth his administration would strictly apply the public service rules in addressing issues affecting workers to ensure discipline and efficiency in the service.

He therefore directed the Secretary to the State Government and the Head of Service to liaise with the Civil Service Commission, to ensure that, all the names of staff in the public service currently on full time study-leave, without approval be expunged from the salary payroll.

Dickson gave the directive on Wednesday, when the Establishment Committee set up to verify the actual staff strength and wage bill of the state government between 2007 and 2015 submitted its report at the Executive Council Chambers in Government House, Yenagoa.

He decried the wastages and loopholes in the public service, noting that, the development has constituted a major drain in the finances of the state to the detriment of efficient service delivery.

The Governor, who commended members of the committee for their painstaking efforts, in carrying out the assignment, said the government would set up a technical committee to study the report, with a view to working out the modalities for the implementation of the relevant recommendations.

Presenting the report, Chairman of the Establishment Committee, Chief Francis Doukpola said, the total number of staff strength as at December, 2015 was 14, 669 out of which 13,936 were verified, while those not verified were 730.

Chief Doukpola, who noted that the breakdown of the figure is exclusive of staff of the Niger Delta University, the primary and secondary schools, said the committee visited 29 ministries, 30 departments and 31 agencies to physically identify workers.

According to him, the committee also observed some discrepancies between the nominal and payroll of most of the ministries, departments and agencies and advised the government to put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure that both of them tally at any given point, in time to check fraud.

The committee recommended the establishment of a special inspection unit to monitor MDAs and their outfits in the local government areas to check absenteeism, computerization of MDAs, maintenance of the current salary structure and adherence to public service rules, in handling employment, placement and the secondment of staff.

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